Due Dates

Introduction There are two intertwined processes involved in learning about students with special needs. It is important to learn about the laws, the court cases and the different ways that individual needs are manifest. It is just as important - - well, to me it is MORE important -- to learn to work with each student's ability to learn. . . . and of course to recognize and capitalize on your own strengths and get on a first name basis with coping strategies for your own learning weaknesses.

If I hope to get that idea across to you, then one of the things I need to do is treat you with the same respect and dignity I am asking you to use with your students. That means that due dates are suggested, that the assignments are recommended but amendable and that every thing we do can be personalized to better meet your needs and teaching expectations.

Are the requirements suggested? No. You have to meet requirements, but how you gain the necessary expertise and prove you have the skills can be stretched around your own goals and gifts.

What do I know about learning success / teaching success with students?

I know that we each learn at our own pace Some of us learn things the first time we hear them; others take a while for an idea to soak in

Each of us has a level of understanding we come with when we approach a subject A person with a masters in counseling who takes this course will have a different set of information than a sophomore just beginning a course of college study. We all know that and we have known it all our lives. It is one of the reasons that bell curve grading is unreasonable. Some people are on their own little curve - have personal norms that don't fit in the skew. So courses need to be tailored so the high mastery student gets to grow, and the beginner needs to feel safe rather than feeling like it is hopeless to compete with the "resident genius."

Some ways of learning are inherent in each of us I am passionate about reading, but some people struggle, read and reread, then study material and never feel like they own it. I can remember anything I see. Some people remember everything they hear.

All of us can learn - can learn a lot and will continue to learn most of our lives. My daughter who is developmentally delayed just learned to button and she is excited about it, despite being 26. Another daughter thought she could not do math - just took statistics as a 22 year old and fell in love with it.

This course has recommended due dates. The following list provides a week by week rundown -- again, a recommended set of dates.

Summer Course: If you are taking the course during the summer, you can push and pull the course around to meet the ten week deadlines. One suggestion is to compact weeks two, three and four into the second week. Weeks eight and nine can also be nested. Finally, push the suggested assignments in weeks fourteen and fifteen together.